Baked Alaska with cardamom and vanilla

Ingredients

500

ml

milk

500

ml

cream

10

cardamom pods, slightly crushed

300

ml

sugar

1

vanilla pod

1

ready-made sponge cake

3

large egg whites

190

ml

castor sugar

Method

00:05

Ice cream: Heat the milk, cream, cardamom pods and vanilla. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Strain and discard the cardamom pods. Scrape the vanilla seeds out of the pod and stir them into the milk mixture.

Place the mixture into an ice-cream maker and churn until ready. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a plastic container and place in the freezer. When almost frozen, remove from the freezer and beat well with a whisk, then return to the freezer until completely frozen.

To assemble:Cut the sponge cake in half horizontally and then cut round discs from it. Place the discs at the bottom of individual ramekins. Remove the ice cream from the freezer or ice-cream maker and spoon into the ramekins. Freeze until firm.

Preheat the oven to 240°C.

Meringue:Place the egg whites and castor sugar in a large metal bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and whisk for about two minutes until the mixture is very warm. Remove the bowl from the heat and then, using an electric mixer, beat the mixture at high speed for about 12 minutes, until it is very thick.

Decoratively spoon the meringue mixture on top of the ice cream. Bake immediately in a very hot oven for about three minutes or until the meringue starts to brown. Serve immediately.

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